HT Picks; New Reads

The forging of a nation

At the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947, India could have emerged as a united nation. Or disintegrated into several pieces. On 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, made a historic announcement. After two centuries of being a colony, India would finally become an independent nation on 15 August 1947. Yet, there was no India as we know it today, only a patchwork of territories forming British India, and kingdoms ruled by maharajas and nawabs who had pledged their allegiance to the British Crown. The rulers are given three choices: accede to India, join Pakistan, or remain free. While many of the nearly 600 rulers united with India, some with larger kingdoms decide to either wait for a better bargain, negotiate terms for joining Pakistan, or use the opportunity to give flight to their lofty ambitions. As the sun set on the British Empire, the future of India hung in the balance. What unfolded in those nerve-racking last days of the Raj? In a gripping account, highlighting the key events and personalities of the time, this thoroughly researched book introduces readers to the dramatic saga of how a nation was forged.*

Keeping time with an unsung melody

Delhi, while lying in the tropics, is sufficiently distant from the equator to enjoy largely distinct seasons, each of which has its own flavour — from the golden cascades of laburnum in summer to the indigo skies of monsoon, the riotous blooms of winter and the nesting birds of spring. Life and nature thrive everywhere; birds sing, trees burst into new leaves, flowers bloom, butterflies flutter by, clouds scud across the sky; each at their own pace and at their appointed hour, as if keeping time with some unsung melody. This book urges the reader to stop, listen, observe and maybe even reconnect with this magical performance that is enacted everywhere, every day, even in a bustling metropolis like Delhi. It is a reminder that nature is all around us; in the chirping of house sparrows, nostalgia of petrichor, fragrance of jasmine on sultry evenings, fluttering down of leaves in March. It is our oft-neglected friend, our haven of tranquillity. The beautiful illustrations by Bahaar Meera Jain bring alive Anuradha’s highly evocative nature writing. Delhi: A Nature Journal could be cathartic even, if only we were to pause and let our surroundings calm us, heal us.*

Maintaining social divisions through food

A landmark publication in Marathi, Shahu Patole’s book Anna He Apoorna Brahma (2018)was the first ever to document Dalit food history through the culinary practices of two Maharashtrian communities – the Mahar and the Mang. Fashioned as a memoir with recipes, it explores the politics of maintaining social divisions through food along with a commentary on caste-based discrimination – what food is sattvic (pure) or rajasic (fit for a king), what is tamasic (sinful) and why.

Now translated as Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada, this book presents the poor man’s patchwork plate, one devoid of oil, ghee and milk, and comprising foods not known to savarna dictionaries. It also examines Hindu scriptures that prescribed what each varna should eat – and questions the idea that one becomes what one eats. From humble fare to festive feasts, the recipes carefully woven into the narrative show you the transformative power of food in connecting communities and preserving cultural identity.*

All copy from book flap.